I am not well enough to travel far from Westcombe Park. Can you please clarify why all Westcombe Park conveyancing practitioners are not on all mortgage company panels?
Banks highlight the fact that solicitor-led fraud is considered to be responsible for millions of pounds of fraud annually.The dismissal of law firms from lender panels started with the rise in mortgage fraud, which prompted a thematic review by the FSA in 2011. Its conclusions included recommendations for mortgage companies to review their conveyancing panels, which kicked off a major policy change in the sector. This led to banks and building societies pruning less reputable firms off their books of approved solicitors .
My fiance and I intend to remortgage our flat in Westcombe Park with Bank of Ireland. We have a son approaching twenty who lives at home. Our solicitor has asked us to disclose anyone over the age of 17 other than ourselves who reside at the property. Our lawyer has now e-mailed a document for our son to sign, giving up any rights in the event that the apartment is forfeited by the lender. I have a couple of concerns (1) Is this document specific to the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we bought 5 years ago (2) In signing this form is our son in any way compromising his right to inherit the property?
First, rest assured that your Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel solicitor is doing the right thing as it is established procedure for any occupier who is aged 17 or over to sign the necessary Consent Form, which is purely to state that any rights he has in the property are postponed and secondary to Bank of Ireland. This is solely used to protect Bank of Ireland if the property were re-possessed so that in such circumstances, your son would be legally obliged to leave. It does not impact your son’s right to inherit the apartment. Please note that if your son were to inherit and the mortgage in favour of Bank of Ireland had not been discharged, he would be liable to take over the loan or pay it off, but other than that, there is nothing stopping him from keeping the property in accordance with your will or the rules of intestacy.
Can your site be used to locate a Conveyancing solicitor in Westcombe Park even if I’m not buying or disposing of a house, for instance if I want to buy a shop in Westcombe Park with a loan from Bank of Ireland?
Our comparison service is primarily utilised to find residential conveyancing solicitors in Westcombe Park but we have recorded towards the bottom of this page some Westcombe Park commercial conveyancing firms. You will need to speak with the company directly to see if they can also act for Bank of Ireland
Over the last few months I have been searching for a ground for flat up to £235,500 and identified one close by in Westcombe Park I like with open areas and railway links nearby, however it only has 51 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Westcombe Park for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a lease with such few years left?
Should you need a mortgage that many years will be an issue. Reduce the offer by the expected lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing owner has owned the property for a minimum of twenty four months you may request that they commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer about this.
In what way does the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954 impact my business premises in Westcombe Park and how can your lawyers assist?
The 1954 Act provides security of tenure to business leaseholders, granting the legal entitlement to apply to court for a continuation of occupancy when the lease comes to an end. There are limited grounds where a landlord can refuse a lease renewal and the rules are involved. Fees are different for commercial conveyancing. Westcombe Park is one of our hundreds of locations in which the firms we work with have offices
My partner and I are purchasing a 2 bedroom flat in Westcombe Park. At the point of instructing our conveyancer, they assured us that they were on all mainstream lender panels. Our financial adviser emailed just now to advise that they don't seem to be on the Lloyds approved list. Were it to be true, what should we do? Should we simply pick a different lawyer that is on their panel or do we pay for separate representation, with Lloyds selecting their own preferred conveyancing practitioner.
If you are buying a property needing a mortgage it is usual for the buyer’s solicitors to also act for the purchaser's lender. In order to act for a bank or building society a conveyancing practitioner has to be on that lender's list of approved lawyers. An application has to be made by the solicitor to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict conditions which the property lawyer has to meet. Some banks now require their panel firms to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Accreditation Scheme. Your lawyer should call Lloyds to discover if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You don't have to instruct a firm on Lloyds's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Westcombe Park lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.